A Day in the Lives of the Marauders
by Sympathique
Summary: I haven't written in ages…so I want to start up again. Probably a 3-shot. Let me know what you guys think : Remus and Sirius around the full moon.
1. Part 1

Sirius knows this particular transformation is going to be a bitch. He has never seen Remus so tense in the years they've known each other. The young werewolf snaps at anyone who moves too suddenly and he hasn't picked up a book all week. Clearly something was off. Sirius also took note of the fact that the one thing his angst-y friend hasn't been grumbling about was his diminished chocolate supply. Whether this is a sign of the apocalypse or the impending harsh transformation…Sirius is not quite sure.

The sixth-year animagus changes into his animal form once he manages to sneak out of the dorms and into the Forbidden Forest in the dead of night. James and Peter have too much work so Padfoot is on call tonight. The gruff looking, black and shaggy mutt trots through the forest listening for a howl. A twig snaps a couple yards away and Padfoot freezes. If the source of the noise is the werewolf, then Padfoot is in danger. The beast never gets so close. He waits with sharp eyes and sharper ears but after a couple minutes of silence, the dog slowly starts to move away from where he heard the noise. The pounding of blood sounds in his ears and Padfoot can't concentrate. He holds back a whimper. Sirius knows he should have gotten here earlier.

The hunter watches his prey from behind the thick greenery. The acid yellow eyes are flecked with chocolate brown—the only trace of Remus left in the beast. This creature is secure in this form while the animagus is struggling to keep control of his trembling body. The hunter bears his teeth, remnants from the last kill are evident but he is still ravenous. He senses the fear which only fuels the hunger. The werewolf is ready to move closer.


	2. Part 2

Padfoot feels cold and tucks his tail between his legs. Sirius wants to be back in the common room with his friends by the fire, not out in the freezing fall scared to death. He stops backing away, not wanting to make a sound. The fall leaves are noisy. He needs to listen. Padfoot scans his surroundings quickly and sees something yellowish through a patch of green. He stops breathing as he leans forward slightly.

The werewolf can almost read the scrawny mutt's mind. The taste of blood is fresh in his mouth but he wants so much more. Come in just a little closer.

Padfoot has barely moved another inch when something inside him tells him to start running. Fast. He starts away but hears the leaves of the bush swish violently and turns back on instinct. The beast has jumped from his hiding place and is now focusing in on the smaller dog. Padfoot is looking directly into its eyes. That color is the most terrifying thing he has even seen. He knows that dreadful yellow. It reflects screams and pain and death. He begs his legs to move. The werewolf takes a step and that is all it takes for the real adrenaline to kick in.

Padfoot is off going as fast as his legs will allow and tries desperately to keep the distance between the sound of his frantic heart and the heavy breathing of the beast. Even the fear of death is not enough for Sirius to keep perfect control of the foreign body.

You know how sometimes when you run as fast as you can, your legs seem to feel as if they're going on their own? You feel yourself losing control and you know you're about to fall.

There was a log ahead from a fallen tree. Though it would be easy for Sirius to jump over, it only took a step for the werewolf. The jump would slow him down. He tries to increase the steadily decreasing gap and almost succeeds when he loses control, feels that stomach-turning feeling, and stumbles. He falls and rolls for a few feet before hitting the log. He can't even let out a whimper of pain because a huge paw closed over his throat. Thick, black nails are lightly digging past fur and into the skin. Sirius can't open his eyes, he doesn't want to see. The beast growls and Padfoot can easily smell the earlier consumed. He feels sick.

The beast waits to see his prey's eyes open. Left paw is clamped on the neck while the right is resting on the log. His is directly above his prey. He always loves to see the raw fear before the kill. Sirius only whimpers and keeps his eyes shut. The hunter is not patient and takes a forceful swipe at the dog. Padfoot cries out in pain and four long gashes from side to belly begin to bleed heavily. Moonlight illuminates the deep red of the blood and the smell is overwhelming. The werewolf inhales deeply. He forgets the fear. The scent is just too tempting to wait any longer.


	3. Part 3

The were swooped down, jaws wide open and Sirius' world went black...

"Cold. It's so cold. Where am I? Stench. Sweat. Mold. Black."

Light. "For the love of Merlin, put the fucking blinds down." Sirius was terribly nauseous and he felt feverish. Where the hell was he?

"Remus! REMUS! He's awake!" Is that James?

Sirius cracked an eye open just wide enough to see Remus pacing in the distance, half naked, in the...shrieking shack, was it?

"Put some clothes on Remus, you're indecent."

"Padfoot? Are you alright? Can you move?"

He could do nothing of the sort. He was exhausted. He gathered up just enough energy to grumble before closing his eyes. Seconds later, he felt Remus' hand on his shoulder...it was shaking violently. The former began to turn over towards the awful thing that was disturbing his rest in order to scold it:

"Geroff-"

Sirius could not take in his friend's dirt-covered face streaked with clean lines from old tears because he was staring directly into Remus' eyes. They were now brown and flecked with gold; their usual colour. All he saw was that gold, which sort of looked like acid yellow, which brought back memories from the previous night, which triggered a terrified scream. Sirius ignored the searing pain firing through his abdomen and jumped away from his best friend because all he saw was the beast. Sirius was clutching at his ribs and backed against the furthest wall.

"MOONY YOU FUCKING TRIED TO KILL ME!"

Remus could not even attempt to conceal his misery and shame. He was focused on holding back his tears.

"I will never be able to articulate just how sorry I am, Sirius. I couldn't control it. I am so incredibly sorry. It will never happen again. I promise!...I promise."

Remus took a step forward but Sirius took a step back.

Sirius was standing stiffly in the corner of the room, as far away from Remus as was possible.

"Couldn't you tell it was me? Didn't you know you were about to rip out your best mate's throat?"

"Do you honestly think that if I had been in control and had been able to recognize you, I would have even contemplated doing something like that? To anyone?" Remus said gently. He continued:

"I am not capable of knowingly causing my friends pain, Padfoot. You lot are like family which means I need to learn how to protect you. I'll lock myself up next time. I read about these great, big chains specifically meant-"

"Sod the chains, Moony. I should have gotten to the forest earlier so I could have figured out where you were and that way I could have kept my distance. It's sort of my fault too. I should have known better than to think you had any semblance of control...how the hell did I get out of there anyway?"

James and Peter had been sitting quietly away until this point. They stood up. James simply smiled and raised his hand.

"No need for 'thank yous'. We're just glad we made it in time."

James jokingly brushed an imaginary speck of dirt off his shoulder and Sirius let out a half-hearted laugh.

"Still. Thanks Prongs...you too Wormtail."

Peter blushed profusely.

"Welcome", the small boy muttered.

"How did you two know I had gotten myself into trouble yet again?"

James stepped forward and a perplexed look appeared on his face.

"You know how sometimes one member of a family just has a feeling that something's wrong when another one's in trouble? Well...it was nothing like that." The boys all sniggered in unison. James went on with the explanation:

"I experimented a bit with my charms knowledge. Take a look."

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the Marauders' Map.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" Remus whispered with his wand pointed at the parchment.

James uttered some unintelligible words that sounded like Latin-gibberish.

As the ink footsteps began to appear, Sirius noticed that the map had been extended...into the Forbidden Forest.

"That's bloody brilliant, Prongs."

"I knew you were going to go by yourself so of course I needed to find a way to keep an eye on you. Don't get too excited though. It's only temporary. For some reason it wears off after a minute or so."

"Odd."

"Yeah. All we needed to do last night was run in and stun Moony here so we could drag you off. When I say stun, I mean we launched a rather large rock at his head...sorry bout that Moons, we panicked."

"No worries." Remus was rubbing the back of his head gingerly.

"Anyway, me and Wormtail need to head back to the castle now. McGonagall will have our heads for sneaking out of our dormitories AND not finished our transfiguration papers. Be back soon."

James and Peter took off which left Sirius looking uncomfortable.

"I won't hurt you. Ever again. I won't."

"I know. You should leave too."

"But-"

Remus stopped speaking when he noticed his that Sirius had turned away. He was heaving slightly.

"Sirius! Are you ill? What's wrong?"

"Please go away Remus. You don't need to be here."

Remus was not shocked to realize that the toughest boy at Hogwarts, the one that every First Year hoped to emulate, was emotionally scarred and crying. Remus was all too aware of what he was.

"I didn't want James to see. I wouldn't have heard the end of it."

Sirius sank down into a little ball on the ground and finally let go. He was unrestrainedly sobbing to the point where he could barely breathe. Remus understood pain and fear better than anyone could possibly imagine. He sat down beside his friend, wrapped him up in a cloak, and held his shoulders as Sirius purged himself of the terror that nothing but a monster could engender.


End file.
